Sand storms
by smilesforsale
Summary: Intro to my own story Sand storms
1. Intro

**Sand storms**

**Intro.**

The sun stood high on the sky and made the sand beneath it unbearably hot to walk on. Only certain creatures could survive on the deserts like this, mostly lizards and snakes. Creatures the people who lives out there kills and eats without a second thought. Welcome to one of the villages in the desert, Valkyr. A village which is known as a village among many others that are located in level 3.

level 3 you ask? Well, in this land known as Sif, the goverment has decided that there should be different levels depending on wealth, opinions, illness etc etc. There are 5 levels in total, they are supposed to resamble a humans fingers.

Level 1 is supposed to be the thumb. Without the thumb we wouldn't have become the species we are today, so the people who live in level 1 are the smart, rich and famous people. They are the ones who will '' carry our evolution fourth '' as they like to call it. Fancy right? The enviroment in level one is near the sea. It's built so that every house has a good and beautiful sea view. Everybody living there, lives in beautiful houses, wear beautiful clothes and live an elegant life style.

Level 2 is the index finger. They are supposed to be the more working type people. While the leaders are in level 1, the workers are in level 2. Is this making any sense? In any case, while the level 1 residents live happy, rich, and famous. The level 2 residents work hard for themselves and their families. The enviroment in level 2 is mostly industrial, lots of chain houses, traffic and cheap shops and resturants.

Level 3 is the middle finger. Here lives the rebells who told the goverment to fuck off when this system was created. The goverment hated these people and their opinions, so they decided to give them their own place in this country. They are the people who gives the middle finger to the goverment and are proud of it. Level 3 is located in the desert, ''the rebells should be alone'' is what the goverment said 17 years ago. This is also the level in which the story will take place.

Level 4, the ringfinger. This might sound cruel and harsh but it is for the Diseased people. Mental illness, dysfunction, addiction and more. The goverment didn't want these ''ill people'' to infect the good people of level 1 with their diseases, disgusting. The enviroment of level 4 is forest and swamp, i have to say that it can be a little bit scary going through there.

Level 5, the pinkie. Ah yes the pinkie residents. The people who lives here, are here for a reason, to be as far away as possible from level 1. Though that is how the system works for every level. The further away you are from the goverment and level 1, the worse of a human being you are apparently. With that being said, the residents in level 5 are criminals. No matter what kind of thing you've done, anything from murder to accidentally offend a level 1 resident. You'll end up in level 5. Level 5 is basically a big prison with people in it who either have done nothing wrong, or everything wrong. The enviroment in level 5 is dry land. The huge city which is level 5, has even bigger walls around it. There are no trees in the city, and the nearest ones grows 3 kilometers away from the city.

But let me tell you about the goverment who are the big bad wolf in this story. The goverment was created 17 years ago. Before, everybody all lived in the same city. It didn't matter if you were rich or not! They were voted by the people and had promised to help the people of Sif.

They lied. As soon as they were given power, they changed everything. They have turned this country from a democracy to dictatorship. They decide everything and show no mercy! Their slogan is simple, '' people are different and if you are a rich man you should not associate with criminals, because they will drag you down to their level! '' In other words ' the ones who are rich are to good for you '. Of course this change appealed more to some then others. The people who would end up in level 1 for instance. However, most of the people were against it and begged the government to change this. But it was all in vain. The people got beaten, rejected and even killed by going against them. And as the location for the levels were done, they were all sent to their levels.

The government has it's own location. The governments location is hidden so that nobody can hurt them. Besides that, the government likes to refer themselves as the arm. If all the levels are the fingers, then the government is the arm controlling them.


	2. So it begins

**Sand storms**

**Episode 1.**

Meijis' pov.

The sun was blazing hot as i was waiting patiently for my next prey to appear beneath the sand. I have waited for hours now and the sun is always condemnatory on those without the right equipment to travel on this warm enviroment. Today i forgot my sand shoes, they make it able for me to walk on the sand without hurting my feet from the heat. We always leave early in the morning to hunt when the sand is still cool. Because of the fact that the sand was cool, shoes was not the first thing to pop up in my mind. I regret it so much now though. Whenever I walk on the sand, it burns my feet badly. I've grown up in this enviroment so my feet has adjusted to the extreme heat which the sand has, but it still burns my feet badly when i don't have my shoes. It also makes it harder to catch prey when your feet are hurting this badly.

Suddenly from the corner of my eye, I see movement in the sand. A snake, a big one! It's crawling beneath the sand, but the movement from it is showing! I started running towards it before it would hide deeper so that it's movements would be hidden and i wouldn't be able to catch it. I could barely run, but i continued on anyways. What kept me going was the thought of catching food for the people in my village. The snake was about to disappear as i jumped and got it's tail at the last second. It quickly turned around and was about to bite me, but i quickly hit it with my staff to kill it. I thanked our own made up god Qui for the snake she sent to me and went to put it in the bag with the rest of the animals i had caught. It was a long grey and white snake. It is a poisonous snake, but the biggest snake i've ever caught. '' this'll feed a lot of people '' i said to myself, smiling from ear to ear. After i had put the snake in the bag, i sat down on the rock i was sitting on before to wait for my next pray.

Oh i'm sorry, here I tell you about my situation at the moment and i haven't even introduced myself!

Hi, my name is Mejii, Mejii Kira. I am 17 years old (but i'm turning 18 soon!). i live in a village among many others in this desert in level 3. My village's name is Valkyr though. Here i live with my mother Shi, father Lydor and older brother Shota, and the rest of the people in my village whom i consider as family as well. I work around many areas in my village, i'm learning healing and fortune-telling from our shaman, i'm hunting with the other hunters and of course i'm a warrior trained by my father who train all the warriors in our village. I do all these things to help out as much as possible as help is always needed. My mother helps our shaman and with preparing the food in the village, my brother does secret missions and travels in all the 5 levels under cover as someone who delivers food to the levels.

Qui, whom i mentioned earlier is our made up good here in level 3. The story of her is, she was a beautiful woman who fought for her and others rights and died by doing so, she will one day come back and fight again for our rights, but within someone elses body. We all know she doesn't exist, but a man who went mad during the early stages of level 3 claimed to have seen this woman, and people needed something to believe in to keep going and to keep living, because of that, she became our god.

''Mejii!'' someone shouted my name, i quickly turned around to see a sand glider heading my way. A sand glider is like a sailboat that moves thanks to the wind or if there is no wind, it drives thanks to heat of the sand. We stole some blueprints and equipment for this from the military. We're not 100 % sure how it works, but as long as you can drive it, that is not important.

The sand glider stopped next to me, in it sat Kija who is my best friend. She is a gorgeous brunette with clear blue eyes. The only family member she has left is her mother, her father died from the sudden and extreme heat during the early stages of level 3. However Kija is still happy and tries her best. next to her sat Mao, Mao is a warrior and likes to tease me a lot, he is a tough tall guy with blond hair and brown eyes. ''there you are, we've been looking all over for you!'' she smiled at me. ''ah thanks, what's up?'' i asked her, scratching the back of my head ''your brother is home with new information, he told us to get you as quick as possible'' she said looking a bit to serious for my liking.

''i see, so what are you doing here moo?'' i looked at Mao, i call him Moo, which is what the cow says. I find it entertaining, he however doesn't, he gave me a look ''don't call me that! I came along because i was bored.'' He said and grabbed my hand and playfully tried to drag me into the sand glider. ''alright alright, let me just grab my bag'' i said and picked it up and got into the sand glider. My scarf was blowing in the wind and i opened up my desert coat to cool my skin underneath it, i was wearing a short top and aladdin-like pants so my stomic was exposed, the wind felt nice and i enjoyed it a lot. I looked over to Mao who were resting his head on his hand. ''what's wrong?'' i asked him and he looked at me, he had a worried look on his face ''i'm probably over thinking it but, Shota was acting weird'' Mao looks up to Shota a lot, always has. The fact that he said that worried me a lot. ''let's hope there is nothing'' i said and he nodded.

The sand glider stopped outside of my home, everyone was there, including shota. It had been 1 month since we last saw him, i quickly jumped out of the sand glider ''shota!'' i shouted and started running towards him, usually he smiles and hugs me when i do this, but today was different, he looked serious and stood still. This made me stop. ''mejii prepare yourself'' he suddenly said, jumped up in the air, pulled out his sword and was going to attack me. I was shocked but quickly pulled out my two swords and used them to stop his attack. We fought for a long time. He is a very skilled swordsmen, very strong. But so am i, i don't have the same muscles like a man has, because of that i've learned to use my speed to both attack and defend. We both gave each other small wounds, nothing serious but he would never hurt me in any way, so this fight was a bit scary for me. I saw an opening when we were in a lock, i kicked him in the stomic, making him fly 5 meters. This is the first time i've been able to push him away and i was breathing heavily as i was finally given a moment to rest as he stayed down for a short moment. He sat up pretty quickly, looked at me then started to laugh ''hahaha, as expected from my sister!'' the villagers were silent, i was silent. What's going on? I just stared at him, waiting for him to explain the meaning behind this. He simply stood up and brushed some dirt of his clothes, looking pleased. ''you pass!'' he smiled at me, i was at a loss of words for a short moment ''pass what?'' ''the test'' ''what test?!'' i said, raising my voice a bit, the villagers hadn't moved a muscle. Shotas expression changed when i asked him that. He turned to the villagers ''i'm sorry everyone, but this is something i can only tell mejii for now, please forgive me '' he said, bowing to everyone. I could see how they all exchanged looks and words to one another, but they left soon enough. Shota raised his head once they were all gone. He opened up the tent and said ''come inside, i need to talk to you about something'' i felt how a sweat drop rolled down my cheek. I swallowed hard and went inside. Shota never shares information about his work with me, this was a first!

When we got inside the tent i noticed that my mother and father were there, by the look on their faces i'm guessing shota has already told them what he is going to tell me, and it doesn't seem good. We sat down where we eat dinner, which is on a carpet with a piece of wood on the center of it, acting as a table for dinner. Mother and father was sitting near us but not on the carpet, and this made me even more worried about what shota had to say to me. I turned to my brother, ready to listen to what he had to say. ''i'm going to tell you something very important, but to do that i need to tell you a background story for you to understand what is going on'' i nodded ''please let me explain everything before you ask questions, as this is very hard for me to say and do'' i nodded again and i saw a hesitation in my brothers eyes, i placed my hand on his and smiled at him to calm him down, it worked and he started talking. ''6 months back, me and my team mates were in level 1 to gather some information about the military's movement is all the levels but mostly level 3. We were working in a restaurant with people from level 2. restaurants are a good way to overhear gossip, rumors and more. We were outside on a break when a man walked past us, people who live in level 1 never say hello to you but this man did. So to quickly make him stay and talk so that we could gather any sort of information at all, i started talking to him. 'hello, nice weather right?' stuff like that, we had a long conversation with him and we found out some interesting things from him. Apparently he is a scientist with a family who lives in level 3. Him and his family were apparently very poor, but he got to stay in level 1 thanks to his high IQ. He asked us which level we were from, i believe he assumed we were from level 2, as they are the only people really allowed to work in level 1, but he was happy to hear that we were from level 3. He asked us if we knew his family, but i'm guessing they live in another village, i promised him i would try my hardest to find them. Every since that day, he made it able for us to come to his house and work for him, the only thing was that there had to be guards outside his house to make sure we didn't do anything to harm him, we from level 3 can't be trusted you see.'' He tighten his fist to those words ''we had long conversations with him about the life in level 3 and he loved to hear it, i think he felt closer to his family through those stories. We took this man for a fool, he was a scientist yet he had no idea we were using him to get information, but apparently we were the fools as he one day asked us, ' haven't you gotten enough information out of me by now?' i remember we all froze and turned to him, we had gotten a bit attached to him by now and were surprised to hear him say that. 'sorry, but we are doing this to one day destroy the goverment! ' i told him, i was expecting the worst but he smiled at me. '' shota paused for a second '' i will never forget what he said after that 'good, i was hoping that was the reason, let me help you'. To have someone from level 1 helping us was a dream come true, we didn't think it was possible. But this man could get so much more information openly then we ever could! We stayed with him for a month before we had to leave to other levels and come back home here again. And when we got back to him he had lots of information and ideas for us '' he looked at me with a seriousness in his eyes that i had never seen before. '' this man works with genes, DNA and has a hobby for creating weapons, he wanted to help us create a weapon to use against the goverment, something that has never been seen before! '' his words made me lean back a bit '' we started to design different kinds of weapons immediately and we came up with different kinds of guns and radios and more but he still wasn't satisfied, he knew i was the leader and he said to me 'i want something only you can use' and i accepted it. His plans for me was elemental bending '' ''elemental bending?'' i whispered for myself but shota heard me ''you know, being able to control an element, such as fire or water '' he smiled at me and did small motions with his hand to show how it could look like ''wow!'' i said, letting my inner child appear and i blushed when shota started laughing at my reaction. ''anyways, he promised me he would have it ready for me when we got back from level 3 and he kept his word. When we did get back there last month he had it finished for me and ready to be tested to see the result. I was nervous but i had come to trust this man. '' after he said this, his expression changed and it worried me what he had to say, had something gone wrong? '' however, the experiment didn't go as planned. For me to be able to bend elements, i was but in a glass container which he pumped in some gas that would enter my body and change my DNA and genetics a bit, it would make my brain get passed the 10 % limit and make me able to actually bend elements. But like i said something was wrong, when i had woken up and was healthy enough to test it, it didn't work. '' he lowered his head ''why?'' i asked carefully ''at first he didn't know either, but he did figure it out in the end'' he took a deep breath '' it's because of the y-chromosome '' '' the y-chromosome? '' ''yeah, chromosomes show which gender you have. Two x chromosome is a female while one x and one y chromosome is a male. So what's stopping me from acquire this weapon is my gender. '' he went silent after that. He pulled up his desert coat to reveal his right muscular arm, it was covered in black tattoo like markings ''i got this as a side effect, but that's all'' after he said that, he hid is arm inside his coat once more. So this is what he had to tell me? ''so why do i need to know this?'' "tch" huh? That wasn't shota, that was father! I gave him a quick look, he was holding his fist so tightly that his arm was shaking. ''the reason i told you this is, this is too good of a weapon to give up on, he asked me if there was a female whom i could allow having this power instead of me, she had to be strong. You were the first girl to pop up in my mind and you are strong which you proved earlier. To be honest i didn't really want you to have this power because you are my sister and i want you to be safe and sound. But i also want you to have it because you are my sister and i trust you the most, i wouldn't want to see any other girl to have that power but you '' he looked at me, i was in shock. He wanted me to have this weapon, this power? I didn't know what to say. But before i could say anything my father interrupted ''mejii, if you decide to go through with this, i hope you know what you're getting yourself into! '' ''Lydor!'' my mother tried to hold him back as it looked like he was about to walk over to us to get his opinion through. ''father is right mejii, you have to be aware about what you're getting yourself into, because it can cost you your life'' i knew that already, shota is being very secretive for a reason, and i'm not afraid of dying, i'm just afraid about how much pain i'll be in when i die. I looked at shota. ''does this mean i'll work with you '' '' yes '' he simply said, what do i do. I'm not used to work the way shota does, i have no experience. But i don't want to let him down! "Mejii" it was my mother's voice, i turned to her. ''don't over think this decision. What does you gut say?'' mother makes it so easy for me to see what is the right thing to do. ''Shi!'' father said, i'm guessing he wants me here so that he can keep an eye on me, while my mother wants me to do what i want to do. I nodded at her. ''i'll go with you shota'' i said looking at him. At first it seemed like he thought i was going to say no, maybe even hoping i was going to say no. However, i want to help in any way to stop this government, and if this is a step towards that direction, I shouldn't hesitate to do it, I won't hesitate! Shota closed his eyes for a second ''alright, we leave to-night '' '' how long will it take before i can come back here? '' there was a moment of silence '' i don't know '' was all he said '' but i'll make sure you can come back here as soon as possible '' i gave him a quick smile before he stood up and was about to step out of the tent '' pack your stuff and say goodbye to friends for now '' was all he said before he left the tent. I looked at my parents, my mother was giving me a pained smile as to say she was proud of me but worried about how it would go for me in the other levels, my father held his face with one of his hand and the other was on his lap as in to support his torso. I looked at them before i stood up ''i'll start packing'' i said and left them for now.

It was night, i had just said goodbye to mother and father as i walked with my brother to the vehicle that would take us to level 1. I thought back to my talk with Mao and Kija about how i had to go with Shota for a while '' what's this all about?! '' they asked me, Kija looked like she was going to cry ''i can't say '' was what i had told them, right when Mao was going to question me about my decision to go with Shota, Kija had stopped him '' Mao! This is something Mejii has to do! We'll miss you. Come back soon, and in one piece! '' at that point she was crying, but she was smiling at the same time and i just held her for a long time as to comfort her and myself really.

It was pitch black and freezing, as i mentioned earlier, it gets below 0 degrees celsius here during the night. I was wearing the same coat i always wear and i was walking close to Shota, holding onto his arm for support, security and to calm myself down, as i was nervous about this journey i was going on. We both stopped when we got to the Vehicle, it was a normal jeep with three people standing next to it. Two of them wore level 3 clothing while the other one wore a clothing from level 2. You can tell by ones clothes where they come from. Shota spoke ''Mejii these are my two partners Hei and Keita, Hei and Keita this is Mejii, my little sister '' i felt a bit shy being near these two strangers, Shota told me about them once, they are from a different village than us apparently. Hei was a tall dark-haired guy with a scarf covering his mouth, he had bright beautiful blue eyes and fairly pale skin for a person coming from level 3. Keita was a red-head, the shade of red he had looked like blood and he was the shortest one out of the three, still taller than me but not as much as Hei and Shota. The two guys looked at me '' nice to meet you Mejii, Shota often talks about you '' Hei said and i blushed a little as he got close to shake my hand. '' not that much! '' Shota said in his defense, i giggled a little to his reaction. Hei had a pretty voice, dark but not too dark. ''hi, i'm Keita a real honour to meet the famous Mejii Kira '' Keita introduced himself and smiled. "Mejii" shota spoke suddenly, i looked at him. '' if we do get attacked, i need you to listen to and trust Hei, as he will be the one to guard you'' i was not expecting this ''i thought you would guard me, no offense Hei '' he shrugged and smiled '' none taken, i understand what you mean '' why won't Shota protect me? He IS my brother after all! '' i as a leader have a lot of important things to take care of, if i could i would of course be the only one to protect you as i feel i'm the only worthy and capable one of doing so. But what is most important during this mission is your safety and Johns safety '' he spoke '' John? '' i asked. '' oh, maybe i never said so. But John is the name of the scientist i talked about '' i see. '' i have promised John to protect him from getting in trouble, if the government finds out that he is helping him, they'll execute him. I can't let a person from level 1 one who is willing to help us die! '' he said tightening his fist. I nodded my head slowly and turned to Hei

'' Then, please take care of me '' '' yeah you better take care of her now Hei!'' shota said right after me, Hei chuckled '' don't worry, Mejii i'll take good care of you. I'll protect you with my life '' he said smiling, i blushed '' r-right ''

after that i was introduced to Sam who is a level 2 resident who works as a mechanic, he had promised Shota and the others to take them back to level 1. We got into the jeep and so began my journey.


	3. On the Road

**Mejiis pov.**

''She's sleeping so peacefully!''. I started to hear people talking. ''shh, don't wake her up!''. Ironically, I did wake up to that. I didn't want to open my eyes yet as I was feeling very comfortable in the position I was in, but I decided it was time to get up anyways. I slowly opened my eyes but quickly shut them again as the morning sun was very bright. I put one of my hands over my eyes and started to rub them gently to get my vision back, the guys were chuckling a little. ''ah so you woke up? Well good morning'' Keita said with a smile on his face. ''if you would've been quiet, she wouldn't have woken up!'' my brother said in a clear voice to Keita. He was clearly a bit annoyed but the guys didn't listen to my brother, they just laughed a little which made me smile a bit. We were sitting at the back of the jeep. There was no roof so the wind was quite strong, I could hardly believe that I had fallen asleep during these conditions. I was sitting next to my brother while Keita and Hei sat on the seat across us. The green seats in this black jeep were not very big, so we were all sitting rather close to each other. The seats were very comfortable but it would've been impossible to lay down here, even for me who am very short! Because of this I was leaning on my brothers' shoulder this whole time but I slowly sat up now since I was awake. I yawned and tears formed, but I quickly wiped them away. ''had a nice sleep?'' Hei asked with a kind smile. I looked at him; I gave him a tired smile back and just nodded. Hei smiled and leaned back in his seat, his white desert coat was showing of his chest a little and I tried my hardest to not look there as it was very distracting. His black messy hair was blowing in the wind and his bright blue eyes observed me well. Something was missing though. ''where is your scarf Hei?'' I asked him. I noticed his scarf last night; it was a white scarf with blue patters on it if my memory serves me right. However he wasn't wearing it now. He chuckled and pointed at me; I looked down and saw it was wrapped around me. I blushed and looked at him, waiting for him to explain. ''your desert coat is too thin to keep you warm during these cold nights; you were shaking a lot so I wrapped it around you. And it worked wonders'' I was speechless for a second. ''t-thank you'' I said and he smiled. ''are all your coats thicker than mine?'' I looked at them. They looked at each other. ''well, in the other levels, the climate is so different from ours. Our thin coats are only there to protect our bodies from the sun. In the other levels where the sun isn't that strong, the coats need to be thicker to keep us warm. They are warm enough to keep us cold during the nights here even!'' Shouta spoke while I was taking of Heis' scarf to hand it back to him. ''ah I see. I'm used to have an open fire and a quilt back at home'' I said and the guys nodded. I looked around, sand everywhere. The sky promised sun today, as there were no clouds in the sky. A very hot day is waiting! The sand had a golden look to it in this light and seemed kind of enchanting as it changed all the time with hills in different shapes and sizes to prints on the sand from animals and people. I've only seen this climate, and yet it intrigues me so. I wonder why that is. The guys were joking about some desert snakes but I didn't listen. My mind was somewhere else. We had been driving all night and yet we're still in level three? I felt a bit worried about that and the guys noticed. ''you look troubled Mejii, what's on your mind?'' Hei asked, he gave me a reassuring smile and I smiled back, ''no it's nothing really. I guess I'm just uncomfortable since I've never done anything like this'' I said while I leaned my head on my hand. ''Well that is too be expected. We haven't really told you much about what it's like in the other levels or this lifestyle that we're living. '' Shouta spoke. I looked at him. His blonde hair was flowing gently in the wind and his green desert coat moving a bit because of the wind as well. '' it's hard to tell you, I can't find the right words to describe all the things I want to describe to you. I guess it's better to just let you experience them yourself.'' Keita and Hei nodded slowly as Shouta spoke ''hmm'' I simply said while raising my eyebrows ''what?'' Shouta spoke quickly and raised one of his eyebrows. ''isn't there something you can prepare me for? '' I looked at all the guys while saying that. They looked at each other. ''I guess there are somethings...'' Hei said and scratched his chin a little, as if he was thinking hard. ''well, anything would be nice'' I said. ''Keita, got something for me that I can use?'' I asked him. He crossed his arms and started to think. Keitas' red hair was moving a lot because of the wind, it looked as if there flames on his head. ''hmm. Well, I guess it's good to know that in level one, you're worth less than the flies. So if someone does or says anything to you, don't say anything and don't do anything back!'' he said with a serious tone. I swallowed hard; I didn't expect him out of the three guys to be serious. He seems like the goofball. '' since you're a young girl and a pretty one if I may say so. They might even be interested to buy you for… sexual reasons'' he continued. I blushed at this and Shouta was quick to speak ''w-what are you saying Keita?! I would never let anybody touch her!'' he said and was swinging his right arm around as he used his left arm to push me to him and holding me close as if to protect me. ''haha I know, but it can be good to know right? I don't mean to scare you Mejii, but knowing things like this can actually save you, if this situation were to occur, dear Qui I hope not, but at least then you know what could happen and could act based on that information'' Keita was obviously trying to help me and I was very grateful for that. Shouta assured both me and the guys that he would never ever let that happen! And we all just laughed at that. But they all shared some good advice with me! Don't wear weapons because we from lower levels will be blamed for everything if we do, even if we had nothing to do with is. Cover my body well; the women there are dressed with long dresses and gowns. But we from level three expose our skin more underneath our coats to not get over heated. And since men there don't get to see much skin, they can become quiet dangerous if too much is shown, Keita told me that it could be useful in certain situations but I should be careful nonetheless. Keep in line; do not do things that will give you suspicious looks. And most importantly, do not let my feelings out of control; there are a lot of people from level two and just a few from level tree working there, but they are treated more like slaves then workers. All of these things helped me, but they also worried me a lot. I had always pictured level one to be beautiful, but all of these things makes it seem more horrible and ugly!

''Shouta we're in level 2'' Sam our driver spoke, he was interrupting our conversation but as soon as he spoke we all went quiet. Shouta stood up and looked ahead. I leaned to the side so that I could see as well. I could see a long, brick like grey wall. It looked rather high and there are some guards standing by it. Behind the wall you could see some high buildings and smoke. I looked up and saw that it was very cloudy; I didn't notice that the sun had disappeared behind them. I looked back and saw where the clouds started and the levels became even clearer to me because of that! ''Mejii'' Hei suddenly spoke and I turned my head quickly to him, all of the guys looked very serious. ''to get through the levels, you need certain paperwork to get through, you don't have those papers'' Shouta spoke and I swallowed hard. What does he mean? I can't get through? Then what am I supposed to do? ''however, we and the john came up with a plan to solve this problem. But we need you to listen to us carefully!'' I looked at all of them. Keita took out a paper and Hei picked up a bag. ''Remember how we told you earlier about men wanting to buy girls for sexual reasons?'' Keita spoke, I got very nervous, he was looking down at the paper but turned his gaze to me and spoke ''on this paper, john has written that he is going to buy you for slavery'' I gasped and wrapped my arms around myself. Hei quickly spoke ''don't worry, he won't do anything to you and we won't let these guys do anything either! This is just to get you in!'' He put his hand on my shoulder to calm me down, I was very nervous but it calmed me down a bit. I looked over to Shouta and he seemed really irritated. ''I don't want to do this to you mejii but it is the only way, it happens rather often you see.'' Shouta seemed saddened by that and I could understand. I didn't know it happened at all, but now that I do, I want to help even more! I looked down before I looked into Heis' eyes and nodded to him. He looked serious and handed me a bag. ''good, put you hair up in a pony-tail and but these jewelry's on.'' I looked into the bag and raised an eye brow. ''It's law that the buyer sends jewelry with his name on it, to make sure that it's authentic and that they're not sending anybody into level one!'' I started to quickly brush my hair and put it up into a pony-tail. ''like an identification?'' I asked and he nodded and let me finish. It felt weird to wear things like this, I've never needed to and they just seem to get in the way! I looked at the guys. ''like this?'' I asked and they nodded. Shouta sat back down and right after that, Sam stopped the vehicle and the guards walked up to us. They stopped at Sam first who merely showed them his ID, no more trouble after that. Then they moved on to us. I felt so exposed with my coat wide open, jewelries everywhere and my face exposed as well. Nothing to hide behind. I normally don't feel exposed with this hairstyle and no coat on, but their looks felt dirty and that was very uncomfortable, I looked down instead as it helped. Hei tapped my foot with his gently and I carefully looked at him and he gave me a quick smile. I felt safe by the fact that he was keeping an eye on me and made sure I felt calm. I would have preferred it to be Shouta, but I understood he was busy since he is the leader! ''state your business!'' One of the guards said with a deep serious voice. There were ten guards in total and they were all wearing green jackets with black pants, boots, and green cap and armed with guns. I held my hands and I tightened the grip when I saw the guns. The guys all showed their Id-papers to the guard and he seemed pleased. Suddenly one guard grabbed my wrist with one hand and lifted my chin up with the other ''and what have we got here?'' it happened to sudden for me to react. I felt weak as the male that grabbed me had a huge grin and looked right into my eyes, I tried to get my hand out of his grasp but he was very strong! He smelled like cigarettes and was chuckling for himself as he tightened his grip on my wrist and inched his face closer to mine, I started to panic! Suddenly a hand showed a paper into his face and another quickly pulled me away from him. Shota was the one who Showed the paper and Hei was the one to pull me away from him. Hei sat me down between him and Keita, it was really tight but as soon as they both were next to me, like two walls I could calm down. I breathed out heavily and put my hand on my chest. The other guards just laughed at the guards who had fallen over because of the surprise of getting paper in the face. He quickly stood up and pointed his gun at Shouta which made me hold my breath, I was about to stand up to protect him but Keita took hold of my hand to stop me. ''stay calm'' he whispered. ''what's the big deal huh?!'' the guard said pointing the gun directly at my dear brother. ''On the paper I gave you, it says that she is to be sold to a level one resident by the name of John, he clearly says in the letter to make sure she is unharmed and arrives safe and sound. If something were to happen to her, the one who did it is to blame and will be punished. '' The guard picked up the paper and read it carefully, he did not look happy. ''I am simply doing my job'' Shouta said and pointed at my wrist. I looked down, it was very red and I now realized that it was hurting a lot. The guard suddenly started to sweat and swallow hard. ''as you can see, she is hurt. I am willing to help you though. Provide with the things we request and I shall not tell him about this incident!'' the guard was shaking, the other guards were quiet. I looked at Shouta; he was looking directly at the guard. The atmosphere was very intense. I whispered for myself ''it hurts'' and as soon as I said that the guard agreed to help. Shouta looked at me after that with concern. He didn't say anything but his eyes spoke for him. I looked at him for a second before I looked down at my wrist again. I gently touched the red area with my other hand, it hurt. Keita gently took my hand in his and carefully pulled it closer to him to get a better look. He gently touched the red area with his fingertips. ''I can take a look at it later. But you'll need bandage. '' It sounded like he really cared, but it also sounded like he wanted the guard to hear that, which he did. The guard was looking pale and sweat was rolling down the sides of his face. His eyes couldn't focus and his breath was getting heavy. In other words, he was scared to death. I don't know what'll happen to him if this would come out; I've never experienced that or heard about it. However, being killed or end up in level 5 is my only guess. We see trucks from time to time that are driving through level three, full of prisoners. ''I-I'll provide with the things you need! What are they?'' the guard shouted, obviously desperate. Shouta looked at him. ''We'll need supplies to treat her wrist so that it is not shown. You shall also give her an ID. That is all!'' the man tightened his fist. ''Damn you level threes, bossing me around!'' the man shouted at Shouta who looked dead serious at him. ''oh? You dare to shout at me in this position?'' the man hesitated and took a step back. He was shaking from rage. ''FINE! I'll get everything ready. Wait here!'' the man said with anger and went to the other side of the wall into a little building which you could barely see from where we were. As soon as the man went inside Shouta breathed out in a sigh. One of the guards turned to Shouta ''Sorry about that, we actually don't have a problem with people from levels below others, but we lately a lot of people from level one has visited us and their look on these levels has affected some of my men, he is one of them'' the guard bowed to us, I was surprised to hear that but the guys didn't seem as surprised. ''It's alright; we're all in this together. It's dangerous to succumb to that way of thinking tough so I hope he can get help. Before he does something stupid.'' Shouta spoke and looked at the guard. ''He almost did today, he hurt her and was about to kill you!'' the guard quickly said, he still used his deep serious voice, but he then turned to me and that all changed ''are you hurt miss?'' miss? I've never been called that. And his voice it sounded so soft, his expression was soft. I gave him a gentle smile ''it's not something a little bandage can fix.'' He smiled back at me and then turned to Shouta, his expression changed back to what it had been this whole time as he spoke to Shouta again. ''Are you going to tell the level one resident about this?'' he looked serious and Shouta simply leaned back, looked at the sky and sighed. ''No way, I was never planning to. I don't want more people to get hurt because of these levels.'' The guard smiled, as did the other guards. The all bowed ''thank you. Losing a member is hard, we owe you.'' Shouta smiled and closed his eyes while still leaning back ''don't worry.''

A little while later, the man came back with a paper for me and a first aid kit. He seemed very mad about this whole think and barely thanked Shouta for not telling. Even though Shouta never planned to tell, the man didn't know that! Before we left the guards thanked us one more time and let us pass after that. I took one last look back to see my dear homeland, because it will take some time before I see it again.


End file.
